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Published: June 29th 2013
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Giverny. May 1 is the French equivalent of Canadian Labour Day, only more so. Cindy noted that the French inclination toward the dramatic meant that such occasions are marked by much marching, protesting and general ballyhoo. She warned that France would be closed today and we could expect massed gatherings in Paris. Happily, our morning's destination was Giverny, site of Claude Monet's home and garden estate, where he spent the last 43 years of his life, and where he painted some of his most beautiful and famous works. The estate is now a private business focused on tourism and, therefore, not affected by the otherwise general shutdown of the Country. Giverny is an ancient town which straddles the Seine, about 60km downriver, as the crow flies, from Paris. History tells us that artists in the late 1800’s, based in Paris, would pack their painting paraphernalia aboard a train from Paris and go to places along the river, notably Argenteuil and the sea-side near Le Havre, where they would create scenes celebrating natural beauty. In fact Monet’s 1872 painting "Impression soleil levant" depicting a hazy sunrise in Le Havre, gave Impressionism its name. We learn that Monet saw the house and land in Giverny from the window of a train and eventually bought the place.
Of Monet’s several hundred paintings, perhaps his most famous are the many of his "Water Lilies," painted along lily ponds which he created on his property near the bank of the Seine. At the time of our visit the lilies were not yet in full growth or colour, but the ponds were still in remarkable idyllic serenity, framed by hosts of spring flowers and blossoming trees. It took little imagination to picture the artist seated in this tranquility, carefully expressing his genius for colour and light on brilliant canvas. Magic, comes to mind. From the ponds, pathways lead up to the gardens below the house. These carefully planted acres were radiant in the red, pink and yellow of tulips, pansies and flowering shrubs. Fruit trees were in full white and pink blossom. The fragrance of these arrays was almost dizzying. Although, as in the case of Van Gogh and Arles, no original Monet works exist on the property, a walk through the house displays room after room of reproductions and photographs, many of the latter depicting the great artist at work before an easel or in repose in his comfortable drawing room. From these, and the ponds and gardens, one could generate a very satisfying sense of the atmosphere that nurtured some of the most remarkable images that have ever been put on canvas. You should go there. After Juno Beach, it can help you feel better about the world.
A busy schedule lay ahead of us for the balance of this day. Returning to Paris, we would head directly for Montmartre then end the day at the fabled Moulin Rouge.
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